Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,394 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,101 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of Meritage Homes worth $7,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 134.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $834,352.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 124,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,540,772.35. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 47,622 shares of company stock valued at $3,640,273 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $72.67 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.13 and a 200-day moving average of $72.52.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.